


a soft sort of feeling

by KittenAnarchy



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alpha Diego Hargreeves, Alpha Luther Hargreeves, Alpha Vanya Hargreeves, Alternate Universe - No Sparrow Academy (Umbrella Academy), Ben Hargreeves Lives, Beta Ben Hargreeves, Beta Klaus Hargreeves, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Number Five SLEEPS, Omega Allison Hargreeves, Omega Number Five | The Boy, Parental Number Five | The Boy, Post-Season/Series 02, Protective Number Five | The Boy, Soft Number Five | The Boy, give!! me!!! soft!! parenting!! five!!!!, its five loving his family and being obvious about it hours, its one of my guilty pleasures tbh, just some soft pack bonding, no sexual content tyvm, through means idk he just survives im not addressing it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:15:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27136499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittenAnarchy/pseuds/KittenAnarchy
Summary: “Which one of youassholes-” Diego snarls, storming in. “-decided it would be hilarious to take all the pillows in the damn house, including the one I was sleeping on?”He blinks. “Wait, all of the pillows?”“Yes!” Diego waves his hand around, looking unhinged. “I’ve just searched thisentire fucking city block of a housefor a single pillow, and the only ones that weren’t taken were in Dad’s bedroom, and I’m sure as hell not taking his.”-Several things have been going missing in the Academy lately.[Post S2 - Ben is alive - No S.A. - PLATONIC A/B/O AU]
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & The Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy), Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy) & Everyone
Comments: 14
Kudos: 344





	a soft sort of feeling

_ Chris chases the bird, desperately trying to-  _

_  
_ _  
_ “Benny-boy!”

_ Desperately trying to catch-  _

_  
_ _  
_ “Ben!” 

_ To catch- _

“ _ Ben! _ ” 

Ben sighs, putting down his book. He’s not going to be getting any reading done. “Oh, Benny-boy!” Klaus sweeps into the kitchen, taking a seat next to him. His bare legs drape over Ben’s, knocking his book off his lap. Asshole. “As your loving,  _ loving _ , older brother, I will forgive you of all your crimes if you just give me a heads-up next time. I know my taste in fashion is  _ amazing- _ ” 

“Klaus, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ben says, shoving his brother’s legs off of him. “Stuff has been going missing for me too.” A lot of his childhood books have gone missing over the past few weeks, and though he doesn’t particularly mind, it’s still concerning. “Allison’s heat is in February, right?”

“Yup. Maybe she’s touching up her nest? Allison would usually give us a heads-up, though…” 

“Say what?” The two betas look up as the sister-in-question walks into the kitchen. “Also, Klaus? I want my jackets and jewelry back.”

“Wait, you too?” Allison raises an eyebrow. “Sis, I didn’t take your stuff. Not this time, anyway. Me and Benny-boy here were actually trying to figure out who took  _ our  _ things.” 

“I’m not nesting, and my heat isn’t for another couple of months…” Allison hums thoughtfully. “Maybe Mom took them to clean?” 

“I don’t think she’d clean my childhood books,” Ben says, thumbing through the pages of his book to ease his growing worry. The feeling of paper under his skin and his siblings’ scents help a little, but the anxiety is still there. Something presses into his arm - it’s Klaus, shooting him a wink and smile. 

As annoying as his brother could be, he’s perceptive when it counts. He smiles and leans into Klaus’s comforting weight. 

“We could always ask her. Maybe she put them away now that you’re back as an adult and not as a child?” That is a possibility.

“I guess-” Large steps make their way to the kitchen. “Hey, Luther.” 

“Hi, uh,” Their largest brother looks a little nervous, tips of his ears turning red as he turns to Allison. “I don’t mind if you take my shirts or some of my models, but-”   
  


“I’m not in heat. I’m not nesting either,” She says, sounding mildly annoyed. “You too?”

“Big guy, were you getting embarrassed over  _ that _ ?” Klaus snickers. “You’re such a prude!” Ben decides to take pity on him - if his face gets any redder, he’ll probably explode. 

“We were just trying to figure out where our stuff has been going.” He says. “I don’t suppose Mom takes your model planes to clean?” Luther shakes his head. “Damn.” 

“If it’s not Mom, then, I mean,” He looks around nervously. “It’s probably one of us.” This again? Well, he does have a point. 

“Well, at least it’s not murder you’re accusing us of this time.” And just because he has a point, doesn’t mean that Ben isn’t going to let him live that down. 

“When did you get so snarky, Ben?”

“Living with Klaus for over a decade. It’s awful. Zero out of ten, would not recommend.” His brother gasps, offended. 

“Ben! How could you! We were the  _ dynamic duo _ .” He whines, collapsing onto his lap. Ben doesn’t think twice about pushing him off, and he hits the floor with a satisfying thud. “ _ Ben!  _ This is bullying! I’m being  _ bullied _ .” 

“Can we get back to the matter at hand, please?” Allison asks, looking unamused. Her lips are curling up into a smile, though. “I really need my jacket back for my plane ride tomorrow. It’s perfect for my outfit, and I’m not walking around in freezing weather.” 

“That was my last clean shirt,” Luther adds on, a little embarrassed. “What? It’s hard to find things in my size.” Fair enough. 

“Which one of you  _ assholes- _ ” Diego snarls, storming in. “-decided it would be hilarious to take  _ all  _ the pillows in the damn house, including the one I was sleeping on?”

He blinks. “Wait,  _ all  _ of the pillows?” 

“Yes!” Diego waves his hand around, looking unhinged. “I’ve just searched this  _ entire  _ fucking city block of a house for a single pillow, and the only ones that weren’t taken were in  _ Dad’s bedroom _ , and I’m sure as hell not taking his.” 

“Why didn’t you just go back to that boiler room of yours?” Luther asks. 

“Well excuse me for thinking that I could sleep peacefully in my childhood home!” 

“Alright, alright,” Allison says, stepping in between them. “I think we can all agree there’s some sort of… thief around the house that’s taking all of our things. And it’s not me!” She hisses the last part quickly at Diego’s look. “I didn’t do it!” 

“Yeah, don’t worry. You’ve never taken forty-three bedrooms worth of pillows before.” 

Vanya chooses that moment to walk in, carrying an empty laundry bag. “Allison, if it’s not too much trouble, could I have at least one of my blankets back?” 

“ _ I didn’t take them!  _ I’m not in heat! Just because I’m the only omega in this house-” 

“It has to be a thief, guys!” 

“Wouldn’t we notice a foreign scent?” Ben asks. There  _ has  _ been a strange smell lately, but it hadn’t put him on edge whenever he encountered it, so he figured someone had just been using a new cologne or perfume. 

“Yeah, Five’s nose would’ve sniffed out anyone new before they even entered-” Diego says, before pausing. “Wait, where  _ is  _ Five?” Now that he thinks about it, it  _ has _ been nearly a week since any one of them has seen their littlest-eldest brother. 

“You don’t think  _ he’s  _ the one stealing all of our things, do you?” Luther asks, a little disbelieving. Ben can’t blame him - even when they were younger, Five had never really gone out of his way to bond or make fledgling nests like the rest of them. Occasionally, if he or Vanya asked, Five might’ve made one or two, but he quickly tore them down once he didn’t need them anymore.

“What would he even do with our things?” Ben asks. “I mean, Five’s a... a…” Wait. What dynamic  _ is _ Five? A quick glance at his siblings sees them thinking the same things. Ben frowns as Luther shifts nervously, pointedly not looking at any of them. 

“I thought he was still undetermined?” 

“Yeah, but he’s fifty-eight. He must’ve found out his dynamic during the apocalypse.” Klaus points out. 

“I guess we should just go ask him. This family needs to communicate more anyway.” Vanya says, making her way to the stairs. They all creep towards Five’s room. As they ascend, though faint, Five’s earthy fresh scent with undertones of coffee and marshmallow grows stronger and stronger. Ben can practically feel the alphas start to shift at the scent - there’s something off about it, though he can’t put his finger on it. At the sound of light footsteps, they freeze. 

“Five?” Ben calls out, cautiously. 

“No, it’s just me, dears.” Grace smiles, carrying a tray full of dirty dishes. “Your brother is in his room if you’re looking for him.” Ben takes a deep breath - Grace’s artificial floral scent, hints of metal throughout it, has always been calming. He missed being able to smell it. 

“Do you need help with the dishes, Mom?” Diego reaches out to take them, but Grace tuts, holding them out of reach. 

“Nonsense,” she smiles. “It’s no trouble. Would you mind keeping your brother company, though? It’s his first heat.” 

...

“ _ What? _ ” 

The hallway bursts into a cacophony of noise, everyone’s voices overlapping and shouting over each other.  _ We should probably quiet down _ , Ben thinks, though it's a distant thing. This revelation shouldn’t be a surprise or anything - there were clues, and they  _ were _ just about to go up and ask, but it still manages to knock the wind out of him anyway. 

Allison sucks in a giddy breath. “I’m not the only omega anymore!” She crows, before pausing. “Wait,  _ Five  _ is an omega? Mr. ‘I would rather die than nest’?” 

“Don’t make fun of your brother, Allison,” Grace admonishes lightly, though the edges of her lips curl up knowingly. “I’ll be making him more food in the kitchen. Keep your voices down.” With a bounce in her step, she continues her way to the kitchen, leaving the rest of them on the stairs. 

“So I guess it  _ was  _ Five stealing our stuff in the end.” 

“Why the hell did he take all the pillows, though? What kind of nest is he building?” Diego grumbles. “Actually, why didn’t he tell us? I didn’t know he was an omega.” 

“Oh, uh… I wasn’t sure if I should say anything but... I knew,” Luther admits. “It slipped my mind before, but back in Dallas, I actually met Five when he looked fifty-eight, and yeah. I could smell it. Faint, but nice.” 

Vanya bristles slightly, face screwed up at the idea of not knowing something so important about one of her favorite brothers, and Ben puts a calming hand on her shoulder. He loves his sister, and she has been working on control, but sometimes she needs a little help in not bringing the entire academy down. “It’s alright.” He whispers. 

“Sorry, I just...” She waves her hand lamely. Ben nods, understanding. 

“Luther,” Klaus says, surprisingly serious, grabbing their biggest brother and looking him dead in the eyes. Huh, he hadn’t known this was so important to him. Ben might actually need to step in- “I need to know: was Five hot?” 

...Nevermind.

“ _ Excuse me? _ ” The tension breaks as Luther chokes, face bright red.    
  


“I have to know Luther! Did our brother have the silver fox thing going on?” 

“For fuck’s sake, Klaus,” Diego groans, burying his face into his hands. “Why would you ask that?” 

“Come on! I can’t be the only one thinking about what an older Five might have looked like! He barely tells us anything as it is - we’ve been reconnecting with each other for about six months now, and we just found out he was an omega!” Allison lets out a deep sigh, and Ben decides to step in before Klaus digs his grave any deeper. 

“Well, we can now use this information to tease Five endlessly,” Ben is already plotting some ways to get back at Five for the book he never returned seventeen years ago once his heat is over. (What? He’s been dead. He’s allowed to be petty.) Ben raps his knuckles lightly against the door frame. “Hey, Five? Can we come in?”

There’s some rustling, and then the lock clicks. The door swings open and… “Why are all the lights out?” Allison looks around the room, stepping further in. Even though it’s midday, the entire room is pitch black, curtains drawn, and their brother is nowhere to be seen. The light of the hallway illuminates a bit of the room, revealing blankets and pillows strewn all across the floor. 

“Five, did you turn your  _ entire  _ room into a nest?” Diego asks as they all shuffle in. Just as the last person enters, the door slams shut, leaving the room pitch black. He’d be panicked, but the way Five’s scent is mixed in with theirs is surprisingly comforting. “Five?”

“Shoes off,” Five’s voice is soft. “By the door.” 

“Can we turn on the lights?” Vanya asks. “I can’t see.”

“...Wait.” There’s more rustling, and then there’s a flicker of light in the corner of the room. In Five’s hands, where he’s curled up in an armchair, there’s an old lantern, lighting up the room surprisingly well, if dim. The first thing Ben notices is the slightly glazed look in Five’s eyes. The second thing he notices, feeling slightly pleased, is that Five is wearing one of  _ his  _ hoodies with one of  _ his  _ books in hand. The third thing he notices is all of the other things surrounding Five.  _ So that’s where all our stuff went.  _

“Do you want us to stay?” Five nods, slipping off the chair and patting the space near him. Ben kicks off his shoes and makes his way over, the rest of their siblings following suit. 

“Y’know, Five-Oh, if you wanted our attention, you could’ve just told us instead of nabbing our stuff,” Klaus says, stretching out onto the blankets besides Five.

“Yeah, bro,” Diego agrees. “You didn’t have to take every pillow in the house. When’d you even learn to nest like this?” He does have a point - this sort of nest, large and soft, with several stacks of canned and preserved foods looks like one a doting grandparent would make. Five is even walking around and draping them with blankets and pillows, scenting them and checking their pulses. This amount of parenting is excessive, even for an omega. 

“Books, instincts,” He presses an action figure into Diego’s hands, settling down with an opened can of beans. “Say ‘ah.’” Ben suppresses a snicker at the sight of their not-teenage brother waving a spoonful of beans in front of Diego. Diego flips him off. 

“No fighting,” Five hisses. “Apologize.” 

“Wh- I’m not going to  _ apologize _ , he started it first-” 

“ _ Apologize. _ ” 

Diego grits his teeth. “I’m  _ sorry _ , Ben.” He snaps out. Their brother lets out a pleased purr, and then waves the spoon in front of him again. 

“Five, I’m not-” Five starts to make airplane noises. “I’m not a- mph!” 

“Just let it happen, Two.” Allison snickers. “Are you really gonna deny the love and affections of a poor, innocent old man?” 

“Fuck off, Allison, you and I  _ both  _ know Five’s not innocent,” He flips her off, narrowly dodging another spoonful of beans and ignoring Five’s hiss. “I’m not hungry, why don’t you feed her or something?” 

“Allison doesn’t pretend to be a discount Batman,” He says flatly, setting down the can of beans on his bedside table. “No more beans?” 

“No more beans.” 

“Yeah, we all already ate, Five-Oh,” Klaus says, rolling over onto his back. “You taking care of us is cute though!” 

“Not cute.” Five huffs. He’s nudging them all closer together, dragging more pillows and blankets from around to the room to surround them. By the time he’s done, he’s practically enclosed them in a tomb of linen. “It’s nap time,” he declares, soft hands pushing them to rest on top of each other as if they were little kids again. “Go to sleep.” 

“I’m glad I’m not usually this bad during my heats,” Allison hums as Five shuts off the lantern. “Though I didn’t have to go through bottling up my instincts for forty-five years. Actually, did he have heats in the apocalypse?”

“I always did wonder if he did this with his mannequin girlfriend,” Klaus says. Allison frowns, turning to stare at him. 

“I’m sorry, Five’s  _ what _ ?” Ben bites his lip, barely suppressing a laugh. Five shushes them. 

Luther shifts. “I’m never going to get over the fact that Five has parenting instincts.”

“Next thing you know, he’ll be trying to groom us.” Diego chuckles. “Y’all are getting beans shoved down your throat next time, though.” 

“He’s going to be so mortified when his heat is over.” The brother in question curls up in front of the entrance of the makeshift nest-fort, watching over them quietly. “Come here, Five.” Diego waves him over. There’s a split-second of indecision before he’s crawling over and getting comfortable.

“Good night," Five pauses. "...I love you guys.” 

Ben honestly might start crying.  


“We love you too, Five. Good night."  


* * *

When Grace comes by later with the sandwiches, her children are all asleep. 

**[ Initializing camera…**

**Taking picture. Do not move. ]**

_ Click! _

**[ happy_sleep_memory.png saved! ]**

She sets down the plate and shuts the door softly. 

There’s no need to disturb them, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> completely self indulgent abo au? written
> 
> Five has forty-five years worth of pent up parenting instincts, and you bet your bottom he's gonna parent the shit out of them. I might write one where he's just very overbearing (did you brush your teeth? are you hurt? you need to eat more, you're so skinny, etc. etc.) and it's both very sweet and very annoying because _he does it in public too_
> 
> I take constructive criticism!! please lmk if anything's wrong
> 
> my writing tumblr: kitten-anarchy.tumblr.com  
> my main: honeybeesblr.tumblr.com
> 
> feel free to yell at me to write or about TUA! i have so many wips lmao theyre all angsty but the only ones i finish are the fluff ripppp


End file.
